DO
IT NOW! TIPS TO GET READY FOR
BACK-TO-SCHOOL
Move over,
summer--a new school year is coming!
With the
start of school, families face new organization
challenges. School bells ring--and so do early-morning
alarm clocks. Shorter autumn days bring a hectic round
of sports, activities and events, and calendars fill
with cryptic notes. Can the holidays be far
behind?
Get
organized now for the best school year ever! Use these
ideas to prepare your home and family for the busy days
ahead:
Create Calendar
Central
Each school
year floats on a sea of schedules. School functions.
Lunch menus. Scout meetings and music lessons. What do
you do when you're drowning in paper?
Nothing
calms school year chaos like Calendar Central: a
centralized site for all family calendars and schedules.
You'll need a family event calendar to track
after-school activities, school programs and volunteer
work. Add specialized calendars and schedules, and you
have it: a one-stop shop for family time
management.
Form is less
important than function. A paper calendar with large
squares lets you enter information easily. Pre-printed
white board calendars are easy to revise when necessary.
Color-coding entries by family member helps keep busy
lives straight.
Planner
users dedicate a planner section to serve as Calendar
Central, while tech-savvy cybergrrrlz store the info in
a smart phone and sync with multiple computers. Choose a
calendar format that works for your family.
Post the
family event calendar in a public place near the
telephone. Use magnets to attach the calendar to the
refrigerator, or tack it to a bulletin
board.
Add
other calendars to Calendar Central: school lunch menus,
class assignment sheets, sports practice schedules. When
the room mother calls for field trip volunteers, you'll
know at a glance whether you're free to join the group
on the bus that day.
Ease the family into a school
year schedule.
The
first day of school is no time for a drastic adjustment
of household sleep schedules. Instead, ease children
back into a school year routine gradually.
During the
last two weeks of summer, re-introduce a school year
bedtime. Begin waking late sleepers earlier and earlier,
closer to the hour they'll need to rise when school
begins.
Don't
neglect mealtimes! Younger children, in particular, need
to adapt to new meal routines before the school day
demands it of them. Plan meals and snacks to accustom
little ones to rituals of the school day before the
school year begins.
Check before you
shop
August is
the second-biggest sales month for clothing retailers.
Back to school clothing sales begin as early as July!
Are you prepared to run the school clothes
gauntlet?
An
informed shopper is a savvy shopper, so prepare before
you shop. Take an afternoon and assess each child's
clothing needs. Empty drawers and closets of outgrown or
worn-out clothing, and either store or donate the
discards.
Working with
your child, clean and organize clothing storage before
new garments are added--and cut down on school morning
calls of "Mom! I don't have any clean . . . . "
Develop a
wardrobe needs list for each child. Check for possible
hand-me-downs from older siblings as you make your list.
If you discuss the needs list and the family budget with
your children before you shop, you'll avoid in-the-store
tantrums.
Similarly,
ask the school for classroom supply lists before
shopping for school supplies. Forewarned is forearmed
... and helps protect the family
budget.
Do
shop early! With back-to-school sales beginning in
mid-July, tardy shoppers have a tough time locating
needed supplies among September's Halloween costumes and
Christmas decorations.
Gather your
papers
School entry
may require documentation from immunization records to
report cards from the previous school year. A little
preparation can prevent frantic last-minute
searches.
Call your
child's school beforehand to find out what paperwork
will be required--then find it! You won't be sorry come
registration day.
Take aim on morning
madness
How
are school mornings in your home? Crazed and chaotic, or
calm and cheerful? Plan ahead to send your
schoolchildren out the door in a happy mood.
Each
evening, think ahead to the following morning. Set the
breakfast table as you clear the dinner dishes. Lay out
children's clothing the night
before.
Multi-child
households may need a bathroom schedule so that everyone
gets equal time before the mirror.
What do you
do about books and papers, lunch money and permission
slips? Practice the Launch Pad concept! A
dedicated space for every family member, a Launch Pad
gets the family out the door in record time--and
organized.
Spiff up household
systems
A
new school year quickens the tempo of family life.
Sports activities, music lessons, church programs and
volunteer commitments tap parental time and put new
mileage on the mini-van.
Get
organized! Spiff up your household systems to meet
autumn's faster pace"
- Take a
stab at speed cleaning and whip through household
chores in record time.
- Cut time
in the kitchen: create a menu plan and never again
wonder "What's for dinner?"
- Try a
session of freezer cooking and stock the freezer with
prepared meals for stress-free dinners on sports
nights
Happy New
School Year! Time to swing into a new school year--from
an organized home.
TIPS FOR
SAVING MONEY WHILE ON VACATION
The American
vacation is becoming more and more expensive. Here are
ten common sense tips to help you save money on your
next vacation.
- Rent a
car. What
sounds expensive can actually often save you money.
Consider renting a car instead of using the airport
shuttle. Many times the cost of the shuttle is more
than that of a modest car rental – and you have the
flexibility of having available transportation. Also,
if you are driving to your destination, renting a car
instead of using your own vehicle is often cheaper
than the extra wear and tear on your own car. Take
advantage of coupons to upgrade to a larger, and more
comfortable, vehicle.
- Eat
breakfast where kids eat free and split
meals. This can
mean an enormous saving for a family of four or
larger. Children are many times too excited or tired
to eat much at a time. Restaurants that are kid
friendly are more than happy to accommodate special
requests for extra plates.
- Eat lunch
in your room. You'll be
surprised how good a peanut butter sandwich, chips,
and fresh fruit tastes away from home, and everyone
gets a needed break from the heat and crowds of
tourist destinations.
- Take
advantage of coupons. Whether
it is for lodging, food, or attractions – coupons SAVE
money! Find them everywhere... online, in local
newspapers, at convenience stores, motels, etc. Always
read the fine print carefully for terms of the
coupon.
- Bring your
own stroller. This can
save $12 to $15 a day at some of the
attractions.
- Bring
along individual refillable water
bottles. These can
be refilled at the hotel and at attraction water
fountains. A family of four could easily spend $20 or
more a day buying water.
- Take
advantage of multi-day passes at the
attractions. This is
especially a good deal when they can be used
anytime.
- Make your
own reservations. Many
hotels and airlines offer additional discounts and
specials for booking online.
- Give each
child a set amount to spend. You can
tame the "gimmes", and your pocketbook at the same
time, by giving children a pre-set spending limit for
souvenirs. Also, invest in an autograph book (about $6
at most attractions) and watch the fun as the children
collect the "autographs" of their favorite characters.
My girls still cherish their "Barbie" autograph
obtained at Epcot several years
ago.
- Spend the
day away from the attractions. You're
paying for that hotel swimming pool... use it! Spend
the day at the beach or a nearby museum. The shopping
areas near the major attractions (like Downtown
Disney) have children's play areas, providing an
inexpensive day of fun for the little
ones.
RECIPE OF
THE MONTH
Grilled
Chicken with Sriracha Glaze
Dense, bone-in
chicken leg quarters benefit from long, slow cooking
over indirect heat. The less intense heat also prevents
the sweet glaze from burning. Customize the glaze
according to what you have on hand; try pineapple
preserves or apple jelly in place of mango jam, for
example, or hot pepper sauce instead of Sriracha. Serve
with a simple slaw of cabbage, carrots, lime juice, and
sugar.
*Yield:* 4 servings (serving size: 1
leg-thigh quarter and 1 tablespoon mango mixture)
Ingredients
* 2/3 cup mango jam
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh
chives
* 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 2 tablespoons Sriracha (hot chile
sauce, such as Huy Fong)
* 1 tablespoon
olive oil
* 4 (12-ounce) bone-in
chicken leg-thigh quarters, skinned
*
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/4 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
1. Prepare grill for indirect
grilling. If using a gas grill, heat one side to
medium-high and leave one side with no heat. If using a
charcoal grill, arrange hot coals on either side of
charcoal grate, leaving an empty space in the middle.
2. Combine mango jam, chives, vinegar, and
Sriracha, stirring until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup mango
mixture; set aside.
3. Brush oil evenly over
chicken. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
4. Carefully remove grill rack. Place a
disposable aluminum foil pan on unheated part of grill.
Carefully return grill rack to grill. Place chicken on
grill rack over unheated part. Brush chicken with about
2 tablespoons remaining mango mixture. Close lid; grill
90 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into meaty
part of thigh registers 165°, turning chicken and
brushing with about 2 tablespoons mango mixture every 20
minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Drizzle
chicken with reserved 1/4 cup mango mixture.
Wine note: This dish's tropical fruit flavors
and spicy heat are ideal for gewürztraminer, a popular
grape of Germany and
France. The
mango and apricot flavors of the highly aromatic Hugel
gewürztraminer 2006 ($20) echo those of the glaze, while
a slightly sweet lychee nut character helps to balance
the heat. —Jeffery Lindenmuth
Nutritional Information
Calories:
326 (29% from fat)
Fat:
10.4g (sat 2.3g,mono 4.7g,poly 2.1g)
Protein:
38.7g
Carbohydrate:
18.2g
Fiber:
2.7g
Cholesterol:
154mg
Iron:
4.5mg
Sodium:
515mg
Calcium:
102mg
THANK YOU TO
ALL OUR COLLABORATORS
The
Ability Center wants to
take the time to thank the following individuals and
(or) organizations for the great contributions they have
made to the Center helping to fulfill our
mission:
·
Aging and
Long Term Services: Traumatic Brain Injury
Program
·
Blas
Rel
·
Carl C.
Anderson Sr. & Marie Jo Anderson
Foundation
·
Casa De
Oro Care Center
·
Chris Van
Horn
·
Christina
Little of the United Way of Southwestern New Mexico
·
Deming
Luna
County Commission
on Aging
·
Independent
Living
Resource
Center of
Albuquerque
·
Our
Dedicated Board of Directors
·
Our
Dedicated Staff
·
Rehabilitation
Services Administration
·
San
Juan
Center for
Independence
·
Sandra
Williams
·
Social
Security Administration
·
The McCune
Charitable Foundation
·
The New
Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Persons
·
The
New
Mexico Division of Vocational
Rehabilitation Area 3 Office
·
The New
Mexico Governor’s Commission on
Disability
·
Wal-Mart on
Valley, in Las Cruces, NM
Most
importantly, our Consumers for having faith in us and
coming back to us for assistance to live a high quality
of life in their communities free of exploitation and
institutionalization.